My family and I have gone to many sensory friendly films over the past ten years. Many times, my son Richie would be bored of the movie and either play with his iPod, or want to leave the theater all together. This is important to mention, because my family and I are big Star Wars fans, and for me to have to leave in the middle of it – as the great Yoda might have stated – been a disappointment so great, would have, Hmmmmmmm.

​According to my daughter Samantha (and oldest), we were all told we had to wear Star Wars t-shirts! In the spirit of seeing some of our favorite characters in over twenty years revived on blockbuster series, it seemed on point. She and her husband Phil purchased a t-shirt for each of us. In this picture is our family beginning from left to right: Christine (me), Richie, Samantha, Phil (her husband and my wonderful son-n-law), Tiki, and Kirk (my husband). Of all of us, Richie and Samantha wore the t-shirts favored by most, they received the most compliments!

​It was the day after Christmas, and even though the movie had been out for a week, the parking lot was already packed at 9:30 in the morning. Samantha seemed surprised, I was surprised we found parking. While standing in line, we overheard quite a few people asking for tickets to the Sensory Friendly showing, then we listened as the attendant explained that the lights would be dimmed but remain on, and the sound would also be low.

​“Shouldn’t they also be explaining that other people with disabilities would be in the theater too and that they are allowed to make noise and walk around?” Samantha asked.
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“I think who ever attends the sensory friendly theater will figure this out soon enough on their own, but you’re right, they should be adding that important bit of information as well.”

Samantha, being the advocate she is, quietly advised the window cashier to include this important information to ticket purchasers.

We purchased our tickets and went straight to the concession stand, no movie is right without a tub of popcorn, candy and drinks. There was a woman with her daughter standing before us on line. She turned around and started chatting with us.

“We’re switching over to the Sensory Friendly theater because she has a touch of autism and she can’t take all the noise in the regular one.” She was smiling as she twirled her daughter’s long, blond locks of curly hair.

“My son Richie has autism, and this is the only way we’re able to enjoy a movie together as a family” I replied. Richie was laughing, spinning and being silly nearby.

“I think it’s wonderful that they’ve added this feature” she said. It was her turn to order.
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“I couldn’t agree more” I replied. We were up next. “I hope you both enjoy the movie,” I stated as they headed towards the theater.

​Once we were all set, we went to the theater and picked our seats all the way in the center of the very last row (our favorite place to be when their available). Once we were seated, Richie kept peeking into the window of the movie projector room. He was curious about the where the light was coming from.

​The movie started promptly at 10 am. There were no previews or gimmicks, just the classic start of the Star Wars space scroll giving us updates and setting the premise of the story about to unfold. One of the movie ushers came into the theater at the start of the movie and said, “If the music is too loud, please let me know. We can make any adjustments needed.” He stood at the entrance of the theater and waited several minutes to make sure everyone was fine with the sound and lighting. I was impressed with this, because we’ve been coming to the sensory friendly movies for a long time and this was the first time anyone stayed to make sure all attendees were comfortable. Receiving no requests from anyone, after about ten minutes, the young man left.

From the moment the movie started, Richie did not take his eyes off the screen. He sat quietly through each scene. He became attentive during the space-fight scenes, and tolerated the very short and few romantic moments (this picture was taken during a touching scene).

I loved the movie, but more importantly, I loved that Richie enjoyed it too. It was a magical movie experience for us as a family, and we will never forget it.

After taking a few photos of Richie with the props of the upcoming movies we may be coming to see, it was time to grab a bite to eat and talk about our favorite parts of the movie. It was a great day.

I'm glad they have sensory friendly movie theater rooms available for families like yours. Glad to hear you all had a great experience and enjoyed the movie. I saw that movie with my family and loved it so much.

How wonderful that your whole family got to enjoy the movie- together! Hopefully they'll have some sensory friendly theaters w/movies La Princesa will want to see; can't wait to share the experience with her. BB2U

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